When a person's hair starts to turn grey, does the old hair turn grey or is it only the new hair growing in that is grey?

Gnomon

It is the new hair growing in that is grey. The follicle which makes an individual hair switches over to making grey hair so all hair produced by that particular follicle is grey from then on. When all the follicles have switch over, they you have grey hair. Sep 28 01, 3:10 AM

Jack Flash

Hair colour is due to a pigment called melanin, which is produced by cells called melanocytes. It is when the melanocytes cease to function that hair loses its colour. In fact, there is no such thing as grey {hair;} it turns white. the grey appearance is caused by the intermingling of white hairs with those still retaining their colour. The Guinness of Why has some interesting information on this topic. Sep 28 01, 5:13 AM

Jack Flash

{Sorry;} in my haste to contribute to this interesting question I wrongly entered my source, which should have read The Guinness Book of Why. Sep 28 01, 5:15 AM

l3i7l

OH NO! another grey hair?!? Yeah, me too. Welcome to the club. I just think of them as natural highlights. Grey hair is unique. There are many theories as to what causes out hair to turn grey - stress, heredity, and the aging process. The fact is that grey hair is hair that has lost all its natural pigmentation. Some hairs grow in grey and other fade from root to end. http://www.frizzoff.com/colour.htm Sep 28 01, 6:30 AM

Jack Flash

Thanks 13i71 for introducing me to the term 'natural highlights'. I draw much comfort from this. Incidentally I was once told that a grey-haired man never goes bald, certainly true in my case. But it might be relevant to add that there are many well-documented cases of people whose hair has gone white overnight (following a severe shock or trauma) which tends to suggest that the loss of natural colour can indeed happen very suddenly. Sep 28 01, 9:46 AM

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